Jokbal restaurant in Deokpo-dong, Busan: Sasang Paldo Jokbal

After finishing up work on a Friday, I went to dinner with a coworker from the office at Sasang Paldo Jokbal! It's near the office so we walked over, and we ended up having such a great jokbal dinner that I want to share this Sasang, Busan spot with you :)

Where is Sasang Paldo Jokbal, and what are its hours?

Sasang Paldo Jokbal is at 713 Baekyang-daero, 1st floor, Sasang-gu, Busan, right along the main Baekyang-daero road. It's open 16:00–24:00 and closed every Tuesday.

We walked over from the office, and the brightly lit sign was visible from far away so we found it quickly! It's about a 10-minute walk from Exit 4 of Deokpo Station.

Out front there was a standing sign advertising jokbal along with milmyeon (cold wheat noodles) and a lunch special. I'd assumed this was a dinner-only jokbal place, but apparently you can also order a jokbal set or fire jokbal set at lunch! Since it's close to the office, I thought it might be worth coming back for lunch sometime haha.

There was also a takeout discount and a Naver receipt review event running. These promotions can change, so check the signage in store when you visit :)

Closed every Tuesday!

Where to park near Sasang Paldo Jokbal

Sasang Paldo Jokbal doesn't have its own dedicated parking lot, so if you're driving you'll need to use the nearby alleys. Some spots are marked as resident-priority parking, so make sure to check whether a spot is actually available before parking.

Inside Sasang Paldo Jokbal: seating and atmosphere

Walking inside, there was a row of 4-person tables. When we visited, there was no wait and we could sit wherever we wanted right away!

You can push tables together for larger groups, so this seems like a good place to grab dinner with coworkers after work haha. The atmosphere wasn't loud or crowded, so my coworker and I could chat comfortably while eating!

There was also a baby chair set aside in one corner~

Sasang Paldo Jokbal menu and prices, and what we ordered

Sasang Paldo Jokbal's main menu is divided into plain jokbal, fire jokbal, half-and-half jokbal, and cold jokbal salad. Since there were two of us, we ordered the small jokbal for 23,000 won.

For sides there was fish cake soup, buchujeon (chive pancake), makguksu, and self-serve rice balls. Since eating just jokbal felt like something was missing, we added a makguksu and a self-serve rice ball each!

• Small jokbal ₩23,000
• Makguksu ₩4,000
• Self-serve rice balls ₩3,000
• Soju ₩4,000
• Beer ₩4,000
• Cola ₩2,000

You can choose regular or extra-large milmyeon, and the jokbal set and fire jokbal set are 9,000 won each. It's great for a jokbal dinner, but I think it'd also be good for office workers or Silla University students nearby to drop by for lunch.

Side dishes and the self-serve corner

After ordering, lettuce wraps, pickled onions, and dried radish strips came out first. Watching the tables around us fill up before our jokbal even arrived made me even hungrier ㅠㅠㅠ

Once the garlic, chili peppers, salted shrimp, and ssamjang (dipping sauce) arrived too, we were all set — just needed the jokbal!

If you run low on side dishes while eating, you can grab more from the self-serve corner nearby! There was a good variety, from lettuce to dried radish, garlic, chili, and onion, so it was nice to pick a little of whatever you liked.

Self-serve rice balls and the small jokbal platter

While waiting for the jokbal, the self-serve rice balls came out first! There was plenty of seaweed flakes and seasoning piled on top of the rice, so we put on plastic gloves and mixed it all together properly.

While I was busy taking photos, my coworker diligently made the rice balls next to me lol. Apparently it was 'from the heart' or something — come on, stop being so pleased with yourself 😣

They came out round and bite-sized! I tried one right after it was made, and there was so much seaweed flake it was tasty on its own. Still, we had to save some to eat with the jokbal, so we set a few aside haha.

After the order went in, we could see the jokbal being sliced too. Since we hadn't eaten dinner and had come straight from work, watching it get sliced right next to us made the wait even harder ㅠㅠㅠ

The jokbal finally arrived!

I was worried the small size might be too little, but it came piled high on the plate, plenty for the two of us. We snapped a few quick photos and immediately dug in.

Wait, this jokbal is actually really good?! Since it was our first visit, I was curious what it would taste like, and the moment we took our first bite, my coworker and I looked at each other like, 'this jokbal is pretty solid, huh?' lol

It had a good mix of parts, from the skin to the lean meat. Rather than eating the same part over and over, it was nice being able to pick whichever piece you wanted!

After eating jokbal plain for a bit, we tried adding a little salted shrimp, pickled onion, and dried radish on top. Same jokbal, but it tasted different depending on what you topped it with, so we kept ourselves busy trying different combinations haha.

Eating it with garlic and chili too made your mouth feel full in the best way — also delicious! It made me think this is a Sasang, Busan spot you don't need to travel far to reach when you're craving jokbal near the office.

Why makguksu is a must with jokbal

The makguksu came out with vegetables and seaweed flakes piled generously on top of the noodles. Isn't it always a little disappointing not to order makguksu when eating jokbal? We ordered it without a second thought, thinking 'we have to have this!' lol

We took photos quickly, then mixed it from the bottom up so the sauce would combine well. At first the vegetables looked like a lot, but once mixed with the noodles it turned out to be a decent portion! We tried a bite of the makguksu alone first, then grabbed some jokbal right after — and yep, makguksu is a must next to jokbal!! The tangy-spicy flavor refreshed our palates midway through and kept us coming back for more. Before we knew it, the plate was almost empty between the two of us haha.

This time we tried putting jokbal and makguksu on a lettuce leaf, plus onion and dried radish, and eating it all in one bite. It's delicious on its own, but wrapping it together like this made for a much heartier bite! After that we both liked it so much we kept making the same wrap over and over lol.

Partway through, my coworker picked up a whole chunk of jokbal in one hand and said, 'jokbal tastes better eaten like this' lol. I was confused why he'd suddenly eat with his hands, but apparently it makes it feel like you're eating it properly! We got a photo out of it too haha.

Free fire jokbal from the owner

While we were eating, the owner brought out some fire jokbal on the house! We hadn't asked for it and it wasn't part of a review promotion, which made it even more surprising. They'd been friendly from the moment we walked in, and then went out of their way to give us something extra — I was really grateful ❤️ Eating the fire jokbal alongside the plain jokbal felt like getting to try another dish entirely! Since the plain jokbal was so good that day, now I'm curious about the cold jokbal salad and the half-and-half jokbal too.

Once everything was out on the table, it made for a pretty generous spread for the two of us.

If we'd only ordered the jokbal alone it might have felt a bit lacking, so I think adding the makguksu and self-serve rice balls was a good call!

My coworker ordered soju and beer, and since I don't drink, it was cola for me as always lol. Toasting to good food after a Friday shift and chatting about work while eating slowly — it felt like a nice way to wrap up the week.

Is Sasang Paldo Jokbal worth a return visit?

Having tried it myself, the food was tasty and the owner was genuinely kind, so I left feeling great after dinner! Since the small jokbal is in the 20,000-won range, it's not a burden on the wallet, and the portion is generous, so I think I'll come back whenever I want good-value jokbal near the office ❤️ If you're looking for a place to eat jokbal comfortably in Deokpo-dong, keep this Sasang, Busan spot, Paldo Jokbal, in mind ❤️